DR200 (x4) Build Thread

[David Carter]

I think you're going to end up back heavy with the hats where you have them. My DR200 tophats go right through the baffle. I marked the balance point with the driver and array installed, then drilled at that spot. I used a hole saw to make a shaft through the baffle for the tophat.

You're right. I already know that they are back heavy. I balanced them also and found the same COG you did. I'm just hoping that my tripod stands are stable enough to handle it. If it turns out that they don't work as is, I'll cut new access covers and either drill into the baffle or do something different.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

You're right. I already know that they are back heavy. I balanced them also and found the same COG you did. I'm just hoping that my tripod stands are stable enough to handle it. If it turns out that they don't work as is, I'll cut new access covers and either drill into the baffle or do something different.

Add a secondary support rod running from the back of the lower cab to the floor. It won't have to be much, say a 1" diameter aluminum tube.

[Tom Smit]

1" tube. Could that even be a spring-loaded closet/shower rod?

[David Carter]

Went back to the garage tonight to see how far I could get...

First worked on getting the melded array installed. Lined them with gasket tape and then screwed them down.



After installing the arrays, I wired up the woofers and the arrays to the filters and put on the access covers. I didn't think to take any pics of that stage.

At that point the cabs were completely assembled! Now it was time to test whether the tophat was going to work in its current location in the access cover. I didn't take any pics of a single cab on the tripod stand. It is definitely back heavy, but it will work. I'm afraid that stacking them two per side while keeping the bottom cab straight is going to be a problem, so I'll have to use an additional support as Bill suggested. However, I did have a very pleasant surprise with my last test. The whole reason I wanted to use the adjustable tophats was to have the ability to easily raise the stand and angle the bottom cab down when there's enough vertical clearance. Well it turns out that angling the bottom cab down shifts the center of gravity so that a stack of two cabs is perfectly balanced...



After doing doing some more testing with the tripod stand, it was time for the traditional shots of the whole stack...



After the family picture, I carried them back in the house, plugged them in one by one and ran a 30Hz tone to test for leaks. Didn't find any, so I'm a happy camper!

I still need to build the wedge supports for stacking and find a time and place to do some measurement, but the cabs themselves are done--FINALLY!!!

Thanks to all who helped and encouraged me along the way...

[Radian]

Nice job Dave!! Solid effort.

[Tom Smit]

[Scott Brochu]

very nice David and it gets me excited enough to think about starting my own family of 200's.

Good job.
Your rest is long over due now.

[bzb]

2 months for four cabs, that's solid

They look great, good job. This thread has gotten me excited to do some DRs now. Where are the plans for patience (and how much do they cost)?

[AntonZ]

Congrats Dave, well done. I envy your stack of 4 DR's.

[David Carter]

Thanks for all the compliments, everyone. It's been a longer journey than I expected, but I am very pleased with the results. Now I'm looking forward to using them.

@bzb, I haven't found the plans for patience yet. If someone could start selling those, they'd make a fortune! It was actually longer than two months. I just started posting pictures two months ago.

@Scott, Go for it! I'm looking forward to reading all about it!

[bzb]

What was your particular reasoning to go from the 250s to the 200s?

[David Carter]

What was your particular reasoning to go from the 250s to the 200s?

My first BFM build was an Omni 10 (the predecessor to the Jack 210) which I built as a bass cab. After being very pleased with the results of that project, and after having read over and over again about how the DR cabs were the premier BFM designs, I decided to try the DR250's because I figured they could be used as either PA tops or bass cabs, and I really liked that flexibility. The DR250's were awesome, but one thing I discovered by reading here and experiencing it myself with my DR250's was that DR's sound even better when you stack a couple of them together. So, with that in mind, I got the bug to build more cabs so I could have two per side on the PA mains (more for the sound quality than for the increased output). I decided on the DR200 because I'd read some great reviews and I figured that way I could get the two per side I wanted without having to manage the size and weight of four DR250's. As it turns out, since I had neo driver in the DR250 and I don't have that in the DR200's, I'm not sure how much lighter they really are (haven't compared the weights yet), but they are definitely much more manageable from a size perspective. Another added benefit for me is that I didn't want to buy another amp, and I was able to build the DR200's with 16 ohm drivers so I can run all four off one side of my amp with a 4 ohm load.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I wanted two DR cabs per side in the smallest lightest box available, so the DR200 fit the bill perfectly. I no longer needed something that could double as a bass cab because I had the DR250's and the Omni 10 as well. I ended up selling the Omni 10 and one of the DR250's to help finance the DR200's, so now I've got a DR250 as my bass cab, but I almost always DI straight into the PA anyway.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

[DaveK]

Time to start the wedgehorns.

[Tom Smit]

Aw man! I agree. But the poor man needs a break!

[David Carter]

Time to start the wedgehorns.

That will definitely be my next build, but it's gonna be a while before both me and my wallet are up to it!

Aw man! I agree. But the poor man needs a break!

+100!